How to get Ubuntu up and running on your Microsoft Surface Pro

Don’t want Windows 8 on your new Surface Pro? Looking to experiment with another operating system, since Microsoft has stated that it is possible to load another operating system to the device? The guys over at Geek.com were successfully able to install Ubuntu onto their Surface Pro device!

All it takes is to disable Secure Boot on your Surface Pro. “Once Secure Boot is disabled, you will be able to install anything, regardless of whether or not it is signed. Disabling doesn’t have any other effect on your Surface Pro, and Windows 8 won’t behave any differently when you reboot the Surface,” the report states. Once Secure Boot is disabled, you can create a bootable copy of Ubuntu and place it on a USB drive. Insert the USB drive into the USB port of your Surface Pro and then boot your Surface Pro into advanced Startup (Settings Charm > General PC Settings > boot into Advanced Startup). Once you reboot, select the USB drive and you will be prompted to install Ubuntu or boot from the Live USB.

Once Ubuntu is installed, the stylus, touch input, and Touch/Type cover works great. “Out of the box, your stylus, touch input, and keyboard covers will work just fine. Your pen will not be able to right click, as Ubuntu does not recognize the button on the side of the stylus. WiFi does not work out of the box, so you will need to connect to the internet using a USB to ethernet converter to grab the Marvell WiFi driver. Once you are satisfied that Ubuntu is going to work they way you want it to, double click on the Install Ubuntu option on the desktop,” the report adds.

For those of you interested in replacing Windows 8 on your Surface Pro with Ubuntu, hit the source link for the detailed guide. Anyone planning on giving this a go?